Pringles "wants to be the chip of choice for esports players," after having "nearly doubled its investment when it comes to sponsorships" in the space, according to Ilyse Liffreing of AD AGE. This year, the Kellogg's brand will sponsor seven ESL tournaments across 13 European countries. The sponsorships will "include digital ads and logo placement, as well as booths at some of the live tournaments where attendees can get free Pringles." Marketer Toan Nguyen, who is working with Pringles on its esports deals, said that his firm Jung von Matt is "currently in the process of creating digital video content specifically for the online tournaments to appear during commercial breaks on esports streaming platforms such as Twitch." Nguyen also said that Pringles is "drawn to esports audiences and players because they skew young, have global mindsets and [are] a well-educated and fun." Nguyen would not share specific figures but said that Pringles' '19 investment is 80% "more than what the brand spent" in '18. He added that Pringles is "currently evaluating what esports teams might be worth sponsoring." Nguyen: "It's a little bit risky for an esports sponsor to sponsor a team for three years if you don't know who is going to be playing" (ADAGE.com, 3/19).
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